South - Suggestions for Louisville area outlet malls? Distillery tours?

Subject says it all. Thanks for any tips.

an idea might be to look at the Kentucky Bourbon Trail website of distillerys@:-)

http://www.kybourbontrail.com/

I understand checking out some distilleries, is there anything special about Louisville's outlet malls?


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I understand checking out some distilleries, is there anything special about Louisville's outlet malls?
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LOL. Hardly (at least not that I know of). But we have little time there and my daughter has to buy some clothes (suits and/or other business wear) for a job she's starting hundreds of miles away only one or two days after our one day visit. Sheesh, daughters are high maintenance! Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone and get her a nice outfit with a Makers Mark logo. That should impress her new employer! Re the distilleries, looks like Jim Beam is the most convenient though Woodford Reserve might be the best.

Re the distilleries, looks like Jim Beam is the most convenient though Woodford Reserve might be the best.

Don't know when you guys will be in the area but if you are during the 3rd week of Oct '09, there will be some FT'ers visiting the Woodford Reserve Distillery, see this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/964098-lexington-kentucky-keeneland-racing-also-dinner-cincinnati-oct-23-24-a.html

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I just did the Bourbon Trail, so here are a few things to know:

Wild Turkey & Four Roses have both closed down operations for the summer, though the visitors centers are still open - that does mean a tasting at Four Roses, but not at this time at Wild Turkey. Jim Beam is in a similar situation - they are distilling, but the operations are closed to visitors due to visitor center construction and that will be the situation for over a year, if I recall the timeline correctly. One can still get a taste there and shop the Beam store.

Tom Moore in Bardstown requires advanced reservations for tours; reservations have to be made a minimum of 24-hours in advance; no one under 21 can go on a tour.

Buffalo Trace has a couple of different tours. The standard one gets you in one of the warehouses, a bottling room, & a cheesy film. There is a "hard hat tour" if you want to see the real production areas.

I'd say the nicest ones to visit are Makers, Woodford, & Buffalo Trace, but they are all a bit different, so it is fun to do more than one. And the more you visit, the more easily you can catch the subtle back-stabs against the competitors. :D

As for outlet malls, there aren't any very good ones nearby, IME. The closest that I can think of is at Seymour, IN, about 50 miles north of Louisville, but I wouldn't think it would be worth the drive.

Hope that helps.